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How to obtain a plenary indulgence for the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026

Dec 31, 2025

By Diego López Marina

The Catholic Church offers special graces at both the close of a year and the beginning of a new year. Read more

2025 was a complex and multifaceted year for Christians in the Middle East, oscillating between supportive initiatives and messages of hope alongside persistent challenges. | Credit: Ismail Adnan/ACI MENA

Christians in the Middle East in 2025: Signs of hope and the struggle to remain

Dec 31, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

2025 was a complex and multifaceted year in the Middle East for Christians, a mixture of supportive initiatives and messages... Read more

A Planned Parenthood facility in Minneapolis. | Credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock

Appeals court allows White House cuts to Planned Parenthood in multiple states

Dec 31, 2025

By Daniel Payne

A federal appeals court will allow federal funding cuts to Planned Parenthoods that provide abortion, permitting a key Trump policy... Read more

Downtown Indianapolis is seen on March 10, 2021. | Credit: John McDonnell/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Indianapolis church files federal lawsuit to knock down parish after historic designation

Dec 31, 2025

By Daniel Payne

Overseers of an unused parish in Indianapolis have filed a federal lawsuit demanding the government allow the building to be... Read more

“When I began hearing the confessions of the faithful, I understood that there can be no inner peace without forgiveness," said Father Pero Miličević.| Credit: Vatican Media

Bosnian Muslims murdered his family, but later as a priest he forgave them

Dec 31, 2025

By Victoria Cardiel

Twenty years after his father and other relatives were murdered by Muslim militiamen in Bosnia, Father Pero Miličević was finally... Read more

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered for his Wednesday general audience on Dec. 31, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV ends 2025 urging Catholics to examine conscience and entrust new year to God

Dec 31, 2025

By Marco Mancini

In St. Peter’s Square on Dec. 31, the pope said 2025 brought both joy and sorrow, citing the jubilee pilgrimage... Read more

Pope Leo XIV greets a girl in a wheelchair during an audience with members of Italian Catholic Action on Dec. 19, 2025 at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

CNA’s top Catholic moments of 2025

Dec 31, 2025

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

2025 was filled with impactful moments — here are some of the top Catholic moments of the past year. Read more

Pope Leo XIV walks through the Holy Door carrying the jubilee cross while leading the Holy See’s pilgrimage on June 9, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

8 stories that made 2025 a true year of hope

Dec 31, 2025

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

These inspiring stories show why 2025 can truly be remembered as a time when hope shone bright. Read more

Begum Khaleda Zia, former Bangladesh prime minister and chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in 2010 at the Diploma Engineers Institute, Dhaka. | Credit: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister, Catholic school alumna, dies at 80

Dec 30, 2025

By Sumon Corraya

Begum Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister, died at 80 after decades shaping the nation’s democracy and championing education... Read more

Family Day celebrations at St. Austin's Msongari Parish. | Credit: St Austin's Msongari Communications

‘Faith must be lived within a community,’ bishop tells historic parish in Kenya

Dec 30, 2025

By Agnes Aineah

In a recent homily to parishioners, Kenya Bishop David Kamau Ng’ang’a said faith is best experienced as a community and... Read more

A view of the coffin of Pope Francis resting before the altar at the funeral Mass on St. Peter’s Square, April 26, 2025. - Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

PHOTOS: Unforgettable moments from the 2025 papal transition

Dec 30, 2025

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Some of the most impactful images from the papal transition in 2025. Read more

Actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus in “The Chosen,” and Father Mike Schmitz, known for the “Bible in a Year” podcast, sit down for an in-depth interview. Credit: Ascension Presents

Jonathan Roumie tells Father Mike Schmitz: ‘Everything in my life has prepared me for this role’

Dec 29, 2025

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

In a new sit-down interview with well-known podcaster priest Father Mike Schmitz, actor Jonathan Roumie spoke in depth about his... Read more

Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis, Michael Iskander, Bishop Mark Seitz, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Andrea Bocelli. Credit: Vatican Media; ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images; Jason Davis/Getty Images; Hakim Shammo/EWTN News; Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; Franco Origlia/Getty Images

6 Catholic public figures who made major headlines in 2025

Dec 29, 2025

By Diego López Marina

A look at six of this past year’s leading Catholic newsmakers. Read more

The lethal injection chamber at the Oklahoma State Penintentiary, May 7, 2010. Credit: Josh Rushing via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

U.S. executions rise in 2025 amid shifting public opinion

Dec 29, 2025

By Daniel Payne

A rise in executions in the U.S. in 2025 occurred alongside “shifting public opinion” against the death penalty, offering anti-death-penalty... Read more

Graduates pose with their degrees at St. Mary’s University College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. | Credit: St. Mary’s University College

Northern Ireland’s only Catholic college celebrates 125 years of training teachers

Dec 29, 2025

By Patrick J. Passmore

St. Mary’s University College in Belfast is marking the 125th year of a remarkable journey that began in 1900. Read more

Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for recitation of the Angelus on Dec. 28, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV sends 3 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Dec 28, 2025

By Victoria Cardiel

Pope Leo XIV has sent three trucks carrying humanitarian aid to parts of Ukraine hit hardest by bombardments, where residents... Read more

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on Dec. 28, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV urges families to keep the flame of love alive

Dec 28, 2025

By Victoria Cardiel

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged Christian families to “cherish the values of the Gospel” and protect the “flame of... Read more

Empty wheelchairs were used during a Nov. 4, 2025, anti-assisted suicide event in Rome. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ProVita & Famiglia

2025 saw expanded access to physician-assisted suicide 

Dec 28, 2025

By Tessa Gervasini

Despite opposition from Catholic leaders, multiple states and countries advanced legislation in 2025 to expand access to physician-assisted suicide. Read more

Bottega Ferrigno is located in the iconic “Christmas Alley,” part of the southern Italian city of Naples’ historic San Gregorio Armeno neighborhood. | Credit: Gianpiero Passalia/EWTN News

Italian family preserves 300-year tradition of handmade Nativity scenes

Dec 28, 2025

By Hannah Brockhaus

Neapolitan Nativity scenes reflect the style and dress of the 1700s in Naples, the century in which they became popularized... Read more

Sister Carla Venditti of the Sacred Heart of Jesus helps women and girls who are victims of human trafficking. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Giulio Gargiullo

‘From despair to serenity’: The Italian nun saving women from human trafficking

Dec 27, 2025

By Kate Quiñones

Sister Carla Venditti of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus lives in Avezzano, Italy, and is known as... Read more